In design, as in life, we aim for balance - between architecture and decoration, the simple and the detailed, form and function. Employing one quality, however strong, without regard for the other does not work. Only when a balance is achieved can a space be truly successful.
As it happens, our role in a recent project was to provide a sense of balance in a house already under construction. Lillian and Steven were newly married and building their first home. It was a family affair, with Lillian's brother, Evan Sversky of Winchester House, spearheading the construction. With the job successfully under way, decisions on the interior details were looming large. Because she was pregnant, Lillian was spurred to call our firm for help in finishing the house and alleviating the stress of all those decisions.
Lillian and Steven are a young couple, but they favour a classic style. In this area, Lillian as well as her brother Evan were influenced by their mother's love of and former business in antiques.
A lawyer by training, Lillian was looking to build a comfortable home with a sense of style and charm to match her own. Steven is an engineer with lots of practical knowledge in the field of construction. Evan, as a builder and general contractor, had very strong and well-thought-out opinions. Together, the three certainly had definite ideas of the home they wanted to create. As well as creator, I was a moderator and editor of their many ideas.
While we did design work in the entire house, the master en suite bathroom was particularly interesting. It was a long, narrow space with a central window and door from the master bedroom; the floor plan and plumbing locations had been determined already.
It was a pleasing layout with balance achieved by strong symmetry on the window/door axis. With the oversized soaker tub located under the window, the space around it was balanced with a shower on one side and a toilet enclosure on the other. At each end of the room were his and hers vanities.
But to strengthen the balance in the room, we decided to make both the shower and the toilet enclosures as similar as possible. Rather than having a frameless glass shower enclosure, we created walls around the shower with glass windows and a door. The windows of the shower were balanced by corresponding panels made by applying mouldings to the wall enclosing the toilet. The addition of panelling in the bathroom - and, in fact in various areas of the house - provided structure and well-considered detail, elevating the space from nice to truly fabulous.
A dichotomy of light and dark materials created further balance. The dark wood of the vanity and tub apron was contrasted with select quality, creamy Carrera marble, which was used in a variety of sizes and shapes, a favourite design technique for achieving a classic look in a bathroom while maintaining a feeling of modern simplicity. Think of beautiful European bathrooms in the 1920s: fabulous then and now!
Using a single, perfect material in a variety of ways achieves that balance between simplicity and detail. In this room, we used large rectangular tiles on the shower wall in a brick pattern, smaller tiles on the shower floor, and solid slabs with a built-up edge profile to mimic the wall panelling on the tub and vanity surfaces. A half-inch square mosaic "carpet" in the floor balances form and function: It's a subtle focal point in the room, and its texture reduces the possibility of slipping on a wet surface.
His and her cabinets of dark wood, designed to look like antique chests of drawers, and the matching wood panel on the apron of the tub created a triangular relationship linking the opposite ends of the bathroom.
Details provided a sparkling touch. The mirrors over the each vanity, integrated into the wall panelling, are a case in point.
A border of segmented, bevelled mirror around the main viewing surface provides a perfect spot for the sconce lighting, and adds something more special than a simple slab of glass would.
Beautiful dove grey paint, selected by Lillian after looking at many samples, was the perfect hue to complement the stone. Fluffy white towels, nickel hardware and silver accessories completed the picture, achieving the balance of architecture and decoration, simplicity and detail, form and function.
In this en suite, as in the rest of Lillian and Steven's new home, balance informs the design, but what about life?
Well, since that time, baby Matthew has arrived. The focus has shifted from creation to nurturing, both in the family and in their home.
One hopes the beautiful house they created - and each day's experience - provide the balancing qualities of peace and stability . . . even if they aren't sleeping much at night.
Lisa Stevens is the principal of Lisa Stevens Design Inc., a residential planning and design firm based in Toronto, specializing in a thoughtful integration of interior design with its architectural environment.